On 14-15 August, during the Pebble Beach Concorso d’Eleganza, auctioneers Gooding & Company will be offering a true gem: the first Maserati 200S ever built.

Gooding & Company’s catalogue correctly identifies the car as a 1956 200SI model but the car’s chassis reads ‘2401’, one that dates from 1955. This particular example made its racing debut at Imola on 19 June 1955 with Franco Bordoni at the wheel. In reality, there is very little difference between the 200S, Sport and 200SI, Sport Internazionale and non-Injection models.

The SI features a wider windscreen, has wipers, doors and a neat hood designed to keep the rain out when the car is parked rather than protecting the driver from the elements during a race.

These modifications were made in 1956 to bring the car in line with international regulations. The 2401-chassised 200S competed again in 1955 when Giovanni Bracco drove it in the Targa Florio. A year later, some of the biggest ever names in motor-racing climbed into its cockpit: Stirling Moss took third at Nuerburgring; Piero Taruffi won the Grand Prix of Pescara and, in November, Jean Behra topped his class in the GP of Caracas to scoop third overall. Following this track success, the 200S appeared in a series of top international historic car events and recently came top of the class in the 2010 Amelia Island Concorso d’Eleganza.

Source: Maserati